House marker



A. H. JOHNSON May 20, 1952 HOUSE MARKER 'Filed Feb; 4, I948 Zhwentor Andrew H. Johnson a Wdttomeg Patented May 20, 1 952 UN 1 T ED S TAT S PAT NT F F ICE 2,591,003 sense maker. Asarew Herman Johnson, shrvsiitit, La. application i tr'da ry 4, 1948, serial No. "6,125 2 Claims. (01. is-125) My'invention relates to house marker'sgeneral ly, but more particularly to a type "of marker adapted to be placed upon the lawn or at some point near the street to indicate the number of the house. I

In various types of house markers used in the prior art, some have consisted 'in numerals mounted on mail boxes, fence posts, lawn gates and in many unique and attractive positions and arrangements. Some of the markers have been 1 recessed in the side of the house itself, and illuminate'd at night to permit the number to be easily found and read. The usual marker consists of a set of numerals orletters attached to someconvenient portion of the front of the house. I his position may be on a front porch, on the steps, above the porch or at anyplace found convenient by the tenant or owner. The numerals themselves are usually made out of metal or plastic material and are nailed or otherwise fixed in position. I I

All of the prior art types of house markers mentioned above have had the same disadvantages in that they can be read only from the front of the house or structure. The non-illuminated types are extremely hard to find at night since they may be placed in any one of a number of positions on the front of the house. In a darkened area of the block or where the entrance to the house is shaded by trees or shrubbery, a taxi driver or'delivery man must dismount fromhis vehicle and often employ the use of a flashlight to find the house number. It is both annoying and dangerous to a stranger in ;a neighborh'cmd to haveto search the front of various buildings to find "a certain house number. I I I It is an object, therefore, of this invention to provide a house marker having the letters of numerals constructed of a light-reflecting material to permit the marker to'be' easily found and read by a light at night.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a house marker which displaysthe house number onoppo'site sides and wherein the letters for nunierals-"areset in the marker at slightly inclined, opposing angles to prevent distortion when viewed by a person walking or riding down the street in either direction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a house marker having the letters of numerals affixed to separate plates to permit the installing or removal of any one or all of them without resorting to special tools or fixtures.

Another object of the invention is to provide a house marker which may be temporarily afiixed 2 to the ground surface of a lawn, but which "may be easilyremoved to permit mo'wingor otherwise working the lawn. I I A I Another object of the inventionis to provide "a house marker which, due to its novel construction, has great resistance to the action of the elements, and which enhances the beauty and arrangement of any house or lawn. I I I Further objects and advantages will be found in the course of the following detailed'description when viewed together with the accompanying drawing in which; I I I I Fig.1 is a perspective 'view'of a device embodying myinvention in a house marker. II I I Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional vie" taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 I I I I I I I I Fig, 3 is an enlarged perspective view "of the numeral holding element as'shown removed from the marker proper. I I I v I I I Fig. 4 is another perspective view ofthejrnarker showing a set of numerals being installed'in the same.

In the drawings numeral l0 designatesthereceptacle proper which is made somewhat triangular in cross section and of a length sufficient for carrying a group of lettersor numerals. 'llie receptacle Iii, in this instance, is made of a 'neat cement fixture and is jmolded into the shape shown. Molded into each side of thefegieptacle [0 is a recess l l in whichis positioned'a nun eral receiving plate l2. This receiving plate 'l- 2 is preferably made of sheet metal having its side edges folded to form a'pair of slots I3andl4. "It will be noted that the folded side'edges ofthere c i ine pl I! e n nate ie y. y e ch, end of the plate, leaving'plain, extndin nd [5 and'the folded ears I fiat the opposite end. 'Ihfes'e ends are made longer than the length dimers cess II and are embedded into thecementrecepta'cle l0 when the same'is being molded. The receivingplate 121$ preferably made of a "rust resisting, metallic material or; suitably painted or ea ed to render itr ii-p f q In the base of the receptacleiu isa pairfdf spaced prongs I1, the upper ends of whichareiribedded into the receptacle II) when it is being molded and the lower ends of which are provided with sharp points l8. These prongs I! which project from the base of the receptacle ID are adapted to be pressed into the earths surface to help anchor it in position, when the device is being used.

The house number I9 is made up of single digits, each of which is afiixed to a separate digit plate 20. These digit plates 20 are preferably made out of sheet metal which have been rendered rust-proof either by plating or painting, the latter being preferred inasmuch as the reflecting qualities of the digits themselves are brought out by a dark, painted background.

The recess ll of the receptacle and the receiving plate I2 are made long enough to receive either five or six of the digit plates 29; and could be made to receive any number desired. Where fewer digits are required to complete the house number, there will be an unfilled space left in the recess l l and in the slotted receiving plate I2. In order to take care of this unfilled space, I have provided spacers 2| and 22 which are used to center the house numeral IS in the receiving plate [2.

On one side of each receiving plate I have broken the rolled side edges to form top tab 23 which may be bent outwardly as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3. After these tabs 23 have been bent as described, the digits and spacers are assembled as shown in Figure 4 and the tabs 23 bent back again to hold them in place.

The digits themselves are cut from a reflectorized paper or cloth having small glass beads embedded in its outer surface. I have preferred to use a refiectorized material known by the trade name of Scotcholite with the base material being constructed to refiect white or silver colored character when a light is cast upon it. The digits areattached to the digit plates 29 by applying a permanent glue to the back sides of the same.

Since the receptacle is made of a cement mixture, it is strong and durable and is not subject to breaking or cracking even if struck by a heavy object or run over by the wheels of an automobile. The digits, however, will lose their reflecting surface if they are subjected to rough treatment by blows or scratches. In such event, the tabs 23 on the receiving plate I2 may be bent outwardly and the injured digit or digits removed and replaced by new ones and the assembly replaced again in the receiving slots I3 and I4. Occasionally a tenantwill change his residence and will desire to take his marker to his new home. The marker is simply removed from its position by pulling upwardly on the prongs H, the digits changed as formerly described and the marker positioned to indicate the house number of the new residence.

Although I have found such unnecessary, the receptacle l0 may be painted any color suitable in matching a house or it may be rendered entirely waterproof by a coating of commercially known waterproofing mixtures.

The ears 16 on plate 12 are embedded in the receptacle ID in a manner to extend the grooves l3 and I4 into the receptacle in order that a digit plate 22 or spacer 2| may be brought snugly up to the end of the recess ll. Since cement is apt to fill the ends of the grooves or slots [3 and I 4, aligned with the ears [6, I provided notches 24 through which cleaning tools may be inserted and manipulated for cleaning out such cement as might be set up in the groove extensions [3 and i4 aligned with the ears I 6.

While I have described my invention in detail it will be understood that various changes in size, shape and appearance of the above described device may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

1. A display sign comprising a solid body having a recess in one face thereof, a receiving plate having a pair of marginal folds on opposite longitudinally extending edges thereof forming marker plate guides, the guide on one marginal edge terminating short of the guide on the opposite marginal edge for a distance slightly greater than the width of an insertable marker plate whereby a multiplicity of marker plates may be successively inserted into one of said guides and into alignment with the other of said guides and moved to coplanar selected linear position within said guides, the opposite ends of said marginal folds being embedded in the material of said solid body and means adjacent the embedded ends of said marginal folds constituting laterally disposed clean-out slots for the passage of a tool through said guides for freeing said guides of obstructive matter and allowing selected positioning of marker plates in said receiving guides.

2. A display sign as set forth in claim 1 in which the receiving plate is provided with a pliable tab on the marginal edge thereof coextensive with the shorter marginal fold and bendable over the edge of an inserted marker plate for securing the marker plate in positioning with respect to said receiving plate.

3. A display sign as set forth in claim 1 in which there are two aligned clean-out slots in the marginal folds at one end of said receiving plate and where the clean-out slots at the other end of said receiving plate are laterally offset and wherein each of said slots has a width sufiicient to permit prying accumulated material from the marginal folds for insuring the free sliding of the marker plates into and out of position.

ANDREW HERMAN JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 408,199 Stewart July 30, 1889 480,255 Emmer Aug. 9, 1892 930,488 Martineau Aug. 10, 1909 949,578 Keene Feb. 15, 1910 1,904,738 Johnson Apr. 18, 1933 2,163,695 McConnell June 27, 1939 2,175,305 Paris Oct. 10, 1939 2,198,184 Stack Apr. 23, 1940 2,231,795 Brown Feb, 11, 1941 2,282,606 Placco May 12, 1942 2,411,222 Meigs Nov. 19, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 81,030 Germany May 9, 1895 

